Political Quotes

“I am honored to join my colleagues today to commemorate this anniversary of an incredible event. Fifty-eight years ago in May of 1961--the year in which I was born-- President John F. Kennedy appeared before Congress and boldly declared the United States would send an American to the Moon before the end of the decade. This was no small task, obviously, as programs had to be funded, as scientific advancements had to be made, and as foreign adversaries had to be kept at bay. As the head of NASA's Space Task Group said, ``Flying a man to the Moon required an enormous advance in the science of flight in a very short time.'' Yet President Kennedy was not deterred. In his ignoring conventional wisdom and the ever-present naysayers, he pressed on, and so did the patriotic Americans who were charged with making this happen. A few years later, NASA began its Apollo missions, and the necessary scientific advancements became a reality. In October of 1968, Apollo 7 was the first Apollo mission in space, and it conducted the very first live TV program of a U.S. spacecraft. Apollo 8 launched 2 months later and successfully orbited the Moon. Apollo 9 carried the first lunar module into orbit in March of 1969. We were getting closer. Apollo 10 launched in May. It was a full dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 mission. It was successful. We were ready.…”